Tuesday, May 18, 2010

May 17, 2010 - The Surfers Point Working Group met to go over the status of the construction schedule and logistics. The project is on track for groundbreaking after labor day, 2010. The construction window is September 7, 2010 - May 27, 2011 to avoid the summer holiday season and the County Fair. A public access plan has been completed to assure continuous beach access during construction, as required by the Coastal Commission permit. The City will also be working on an Information Kiosk to make beachgoers aware of the pending project. Surfrider will help to provide outreach materials, and we are also working on a short video to help support the project.

In the evening, Ventura City Council approved the contract for construction in a 'consent item' on the agenda. I spoke briefly to thank the Council for their commitment to the project, noting that I first appeared before their board sometime in 1995. I also thanked City engineer Rick Raives for his patience and success in securing the grant funding to make this project a reality.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION (PHASE ONE):

Remove approximately 1/2 of existing damaged parking lot closest to the Ventura River Estuary

Widen 900-feet long stretch of beach by approximately 60-feet

Bury 26,000 tons of small cobblestones along the beach to provide erosion protection and import 18,000 tons of new sand to cover the cobble

Shorten Shoreline Drive and construct new cul-ds-ss6 1,000-feet east of existing cul-de-sac

Relocate 1,200 -feet of multi-use/bike path and install path lighting

Construct new rainwater-permeable parking areas

Install a new storm water system including a grass bioswale along the bikepath and a stormwater filtration system to treat runoff before discharge to Ventura River Estuary / Ocean

CONSTRUCTION COST (BlD AMOUNT): $ 1,693,

From the Staff Report:

The Surfers Point project has now reached a major milestone with construction ready tocommence on nearly half of the ultimate project. The major components of this phase willinclude removing nearly half of the existing damaged Fairgrounds parking lot closest to theVentura River, replacing this parking with an adjacent temporary surfaced lot, relocating theclass I bike path, placing a significant amount of the buried cobble needed to provideerosion protection for the relocated improvements and covering it with enough sand foreasier access, shortening and abandoning a portion of Shoreline Drive, and installing stormwater quality improvements (see Attachment 1).

On April 20, 2010, eleven construction bids were received for this project. The apparentlow bidder, C.A. Rasmussen, Inc. of Valencia, submitted a bid in the amount of$1,693,841, including the Additive Bid Alternate for Bike Path Lights. The Engineer'sestimated construction cost was $2,485,201.

This project is being constructed by utilizing

$1.5 million that was granted to the City through the Federal Transportation SAFETEA-LU Act

$1.5 million grant from the State Coastal Conservancy

$353,000 appropriated by the City Council as part of the Capital Project bond being financed by the RDA repayment to the General Fund.

Recent history:

August 3, 2009 - City Council authorizes City Manager to enter into a $1.5 million grant

February 22, 2010 - City Council approves the purchase of cobble rock and sand from the Rick Garcia Construction Company, Inc. (RGCC), needed for the Surfers Point Managed Shoreline Retreat Initial Phase project, at a total cost of $600,000

March 8, 2010 - City Council approves the contract plans and specifications for the Surfers Point project, in the office of the City Clerk.

Paul Jenkin is the Ventura Campaign Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation, and founder of the Matilija Coalition. The Surfrider Foundation is an international environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world’s waves and beaches through conservation, activism, research, and education (CARE).
Since 1994, Paul has worked to restore the coast and watershed where he lives, in Ventura, California.